Back in Time for... is a British factual entertainment television series produced by Wall to Wall and broadcast on BBC Two from 17 March 2015 to 23 June 2022. Each series takes one "typical" family or multiple individuals relating to the topic (e.g., factory workers in Back in Time for the Factory) and immerses them in life of past decades.
Overview The first series, Back in Time for Dinner, centred on the Robshaw family trying foods from the second half of the twentieth century, and experiencing what it was like to live then as a middle-class family. Each hour-long programme covers one decade, and the family's own kitchen, dining, and living rooms were re-designed by the TV team each week to give an accurate representation of what it was like to cook and eat then.
The second series, Back in Time for the Weekend, featured different participants, the middle-class Ashby Hawkins family, spending a week living through different decades from the 1950s to the 1990s and experiencing leisure time from the differing eras.
On 14 and 15 December 2015, a two-part Christmas special titled Back in Time for Christmas was broadcast which featured the Robshaw family trying Christmas food from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s (Episode 1) and the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s (Episode 2).
A special edition of the show titled Back in Time for Brixton and consisting of two episodes, aired on BBC Two in November 2016. This focused on a black British family called the Irwins "through 60 years of cultural and social shifts, charting the story of how African-Caribbean immigration has changed British culture and society".
A sequel to the first series, titled Further Back in Time for Dinner, returns to the first family, the Robshaws, pushing them half a century earlier, beginning in 1900 and ending in 1949. The series was first broadcast on Tuesday 23 January 2017.
Back in Time for Tea This began airing in February 2018. This series focuses on the food and lifestyle of working-class Northern households, exemplified by the Ellis family, from post-World War I through to the end of the 1990s.
A fifth series, Back in Time for the Factory, consisted of five episodes and aired on BBC Two in September 2018. These episodes looked at modern-day workers experiencing work in a garment factory in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, with each episode focusing on a specific year.
A sixth series, entitled Back in Time for School, aired its first episode in January 2019. This series followed a group of students and teachers experiencing school during different time periods from the 1890s to 1990s.
A seventh series, Back in Time for the Corner Shop, began airing in February 2020.
An eighth series, Back in Time for Birmingham was broadcast on BBC Two, and ran for four episodes (over consecutive nights) Monday 20 June till Thursday 23 June 2022. The four episodes featured the Sharma family and was presented by host Noreen Khan and social historian Yasmin Khan. It "follow[ed] a modern-day family of South Asian Brits Back In Time to experience what life in the city would have been like for previous generations."
Broadcast The series debuted in the UK on BBC Two on 17 March 2015. Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on The LifeStyle Channel on 24 September 2015. The second series began on 2 February 2016.
Episodes Series One – Back in Time for Dinner The first six-episode series was co-presented by restaurant critic Giles Coren and food historian Polly Russell. It followed the Robshaw family - Brandon, his wife Rochelle and their three children, Rosalind, Miranda and Fred.
Episode Title Description Airdate 1 The 1950s The Robshaws embark on a six-week experiment to discover how a revolution in food transformed the British way of life, guided by records of what people ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the decades after the Second World War. Under the guidance of journalist Giles Coren and food historian Polly Russell, they begin by sampling meals from the early 1950s, when rationing was still in effect and staples included dried eggs, national loaf, dripping and liver. With a contribution by Mary Berry. 17 March 2015 2 The 1960s The Robshaws are transported back to the space-age 1960s, with their home having a fitted kitchen installed and a host of new tastes and flavours to be sampled. Giles Coren and Polly Russell introduce them to the culinary treats of the decade, Including spaghetti bolognese and TV dinners, while Hairy Biker Dave Myers delivers the family their long-awaited fridge and reveals with it the transformative effect of the appliance on his own childhood. Giles also discovers how chicken went from an expensive treat to an everyday staple. 24 March 2015 3 The 1970s The Robshaws are transported to the 1970s and Mary Berry is on hand to help the family stock up their brand new chest freezer, as frozen and convenience food became a lifesaver for time-pressed working women of the decade. Giles Coren meets the two hippies whose adventures in health food boosted the popularity of houmous, while the family has a go at self-sufficiency and discovers that milking a goat is nowhere near as simple as it looks. 31 March 2015 4 The 1980s The Robshaws and their home are given a 1980s makeover, with a gadget-filled kitchen including an enormous microwave oven. Giles Coren and food historian Polly Russell use the national food survey to guide the family's diet and introduce them to the culinary treats and trends of the decade, with technology giving them the chance to make their own fizzy drinks and produce a cheese and ham toastie. They also learn about the rise of both nouvelle cuisine and the fast-food chains and find a host of new tastes and flavours from around the globe now available at their local supermarket. 7 April 2015 5 The 1990s The Robshaws get to grips with the home life and food of the 1990s and start the decade delighting in the vast quantities of food now available from around the globe – but soon realise there are definite downsides to the drive towards cheaper and cheaper food of previous years. Giles Coren and food historian Polly Russell introduce them to the culinary treats of the era, from bagged salad and cook-in sauces to organic veg boxes and the gastro pub. 14 April 2015 6 The Future After learning all about the food of yesteryear, the Robshaws end their time-travelling eating adventure with Giles Coren and Polly Russell introducing them to some potential tastes of the future. Based on the family's experiences of the way culinary history has unravelled, they also make a few predictions about how people will shop, cook and dine over the next fifty years. 21 April 2015
Christmas Specials – Back in Time for Christmas Episode Title Description Airdate 1 The 1940s, 1950s and 1960s The Robshaw family experience Christmas throughout the decades from the 1940s to the 1960s. 14 December 2015 2 The 1970s, 1980s and 1990s The Robshaw family continue to time travel through Christmas, visiting the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. 15 December 2015
Series Two – Back in Time for the Weekend The second six-episode series was again co-presented by restaurant critic Giles Coren and food historian Polly Russell. It followed the Ashby-Hawkins family, a couple and their two children.